As the hospitality industry grows ever more complex the hiring of an experienced and knowledgeable and importantly a networked hospitality advisor has become an essential resource to owners, developers, investors, and operators in achieving their goals. Tourism Solutions International (TSI) is one such Singapore-based renowned hospitality advisory firm that brings four decades of hands-on experience.
Established in 1991, its Principal and associates have worked in the industry throughout Asia since the 1980's TSI is equipped with an extremely experienced team with unique experience from multiple perspectives (Owner, Asset Manager, Development Consultant, Management Company, and Expert Witness in legal proceedings), thus has the understanding of multiple perspectives and the inner workings and motivations of the various players at the 'hospitality industry table'.
The proficient team members include senior executives providing underwriting skills developed working with top Private Equity firms (Colony Capital, GE Capital), hotel groups (Intercontinental, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Regent, Four Seasons, and Dorchester Collection), and of course the experience of Eric Levy, Managing Director of Tourism Solutions International, in establishing Hospitality consulting and the Horwath organization in Asia as a Partner in this group during its formative years in Asia.
"Tourism Solutions International has been operating in Asia for over three decades and values its reputation as a fully independent advisory group that does not play up to large organizations in the hopes of repeat business from such parties on the opposite side of the table", emphasizes Levy.
Tourism Solutions offers asset management services, including during the development phase which also addresses management and branding issues, expert witness, strategic planning, capital restructuring, and management contract negotiations. Eric Levy has negotiated contracts from both the side of Management Company and the owner for approximately 40 years. As a leader in the provision of expert witness services in Asia, the company will continue to hone its approaches and integrate the development of litigation strategies with cutting-edge procedures at prestigious law firms.
An Edge over the Others
Tourism Solutions stays through the execution of its advisory work and does not stop with the delivery of a report. Some client relationships with Tourism Solutions have continuous professional relationships that last more than two decades.
Being an expert witness in arbitrations is one of the Group's primary focus areas. Further, the firm goes beyond merely offering financial forecasts or appraisals; rather in most cases, is a key contributor to the strategy of the arbitration process. Despite the fact that there are various other qualified asset management organizations, Tourism Solutions has carved out a position for itself by providing these services to developers during the development phase. This brings a seasoned, well-rounded hotelier to the team who has served in a variety of capacities, including developer, Management Company, design and feasibility/market study provider.
Testament of Efficiency
In the merger of a Luxury Hotel chain with one of the Big Four hotel chains, TSI collaborated with the Chairman of the Luxury Hotel chain to position his company, explore various options for growing the brand and develop a strategy that led to the two groups merging and achieving the goals of both parties. As this was ultra-confidential, the competent working team was very small, with only the two (Chairman and TSI team) at the start. Throughout the mating dance, and finally execution, the team included only a handful of senior executives and TSI staff working the deal from the side of the Hotel Group. In this respect, confidentiality within the organization was maintained, which is crucial for team morale, press exposure, and so on in such a transaction. "Our clients appreciate us, which we believe is demonstrated by a track record of long-term partnerships in both good and challenging times. Arbitration cases have a 100% success rate in terms of obtaining a liability ruling or a considerable decrease in damages as determined by the tribunal against the initial claim. We will continue to work with excellent clients on projects to which we believe we can contribute significant value", concludes Teo Pok-Yih, Vice President.
TSI is equipped with an extremely experienced team with a unique experience from multiple perspectives of the various players at the hospitality industry table
Eric Levy, Managing Director
Eric is Managing Director of Tourism Solutions International. With TSI, Eric was a partner with Octagon Capital Partners from 2002-2005. Prior to that at Colony Capital Asia Pacific, Eric was Executive Vice President, where he was involved in various sectors of the real estate industry. His main focus was to drive Colony hotel investment efforts in Asia. He also spent three dynamic years as Senior Vice President of Growth and Development for Pan Pacific Hotels Group where he had global responsibility for growing the company through acquisitions and third-party management contracts. He was also a Senior Partner with Horwath Asia Pacific and a Founder and President of Horwath Hotel Partners, providing hotel brokerage services primarily to Asian hotel owners. He joined Horwath in the early '80s and was based in Hong Kong prior to his move to Singapore. Throughout his tenure in Asia, he worked on hundreds of projects in various countries primarily throughout the Asia Pacific region Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, China, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, The Philippines, US, and Saipan.
Teo Pok Yih Vice President
Teo Pok Yih is a hotel and real estate professional with over eighteen years of experience in the hospitality, real estate, and financial services industries. He was previously at IHG in Shanghai and Singapore, supporting the Development function in structuring and executing non-traditional management/franchise contracts and investments with balance sheet exposure, as well as a business development strategy, as Vice President for Capital Investments & Transactions in Greater China. Prior to that, he held positions at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (Shanghai), GE Real Estate (Sydney), and Octagon Capital Partners (Singapore) and was a hotel operations trainee and investment banking analyst in his younger days. Teo Pok Yih has a MA in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University and a BA in Economics from Northwestern University.
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